India arrests heads of adoption centre
KOLKATA: Indian police said they have arrested the heads of an adoption centre suspected of selling at least 17 children to foreign couples, the latest trafficking scandal to hit the country.
Investigators said children aged between six months and 14 years were sold to couples from Europe, America and Asia for between US$ 12,000 ( RM53,504) and US$23,000 (RM102,549) and taken out of the country.
Police in the eastern state of West Bengal arrested Chandana Chakraborty, head of the Bimala Sishu Griha centre, and her deputy Sonlai Mondal at the weekend after a tip-off from the federal adoption agency.
“In the last two to three years, they have sold at least 17 children,” a police officer said.
“We will try to contact the couples and are expecting more arrests in coming days.”
The women were also involved in running two other homes in the area.
“Two people were arrested after raids in three charitable homes on Saturday night,” Sashi Panja, state women and child development minister, said. It is not clear how the alleged sales escaped official notice.
Investigators said they had been monitoring the charity since June when child welfare authorities found discrepancies in their records and relocated all the children from one of the homes.
India has an estimated 30 million orphans, but the rules governing international adoptions are strict and domestic adoptions remain relatively rare.
Only 4,362 children were legally adopted in 2014 and 3,677 in 2015, according to the Central Adoption Resource Authority.